Semi Permanent X Highsnobiety hotel takeover
Sydney, Australia
May 26-27, 2021
While one might from a distance label the entity known as Semi Permanent as a host for creative experiences and design festivals, the aforementioned categorization does not really do justice to how they channel their alchemy.
After their first festival incarnation in Sydney, Australia close to twenty years ago, the creative experience company has seen an evolution resulting in not only branching out into production services but the creation of branches in the old world, the US and China where their curations, festivals and innovative brand activations continue to thrive in the respective local contexts.
Needless to say, when In 2020 Semi Permanent announced their partnership with digital publisher Highsnobiety, expectations were high and I was intrigued as to what the collaboration would spawn.
A first taste was given via the launch of a two-day experiential hotel takeover, which saw Sydney’s Paramount Hotel being morphed into a hub of interactive and immersive experiences, flanked by music performances, cinema and tastings, with the common denominator being the celebration of creative thought that is aimed at paving the road for a brighter future.
A curated talks session with a diverse line-up of creative talent set the scene, before attendants were set free to tumble down the Semi Permanent rabbit hole spread over four hotel floors.
By remodelling hotel rooms to serve as backdrops for e.g. an NFT exhibition by Flume and Jonathan Zawada, photography by filmmaker Gia Coppola and fashion brand and Undercover collaborators P.A.M’s multi-sensory ode to psilocybin, along with exclusive product launches and brand activations powered by Semi Permanent’s curatorial team, one had the chance to meander through an intimate and informative wonderland of experiences.
Given that the hotel takeover was only the prelude to the three-day Semi Permanent festival, which will run from 12-14 August at Sydney’s Carriageworks, one can only imagine the calibre of talks, workshops, exhibitions, screenings and parties that will be curated for the 2021 incarnation.
